Roleplaying in the Uplift Universe

What is a Roleplaying Game?

Kids roleplay all the time. A bunch of kids playing cops and robbers, or
rebels and stormtroopers, are roleplaying. They're temporarily taking on
the identity of people who are able to do things and go places they can't.

Fantasy Roleplaying Games are a grown-up, social, disciplined type of
make-believe. Make-believe with rules. Rules that help settle the
"Did!" "Did not!" arguments; rules that add detail; rules
that turn make-believe into a persuit for thinking people interested in
exploring other worlds and times.

There are two sorts of player in a fantasy roleplaying game. Ordinary
players take on the roles of one or more player characters, or "PCs." PCs
are fictional characters from the setting where the roleplaying adventure
will take place. A PC starts out as a figment of the player's imagination.
The player then uses a set of rules to describe the character in game terms.
The PCs might recieve numeric scores for things like Strength and Intelligence,
and then be assigned skills, advantages, and disadvantages. Interesting
characters have both strengths and weaknesses!

The other sort of player is the Game Master, or "GM." There's only one
GM. He or she is the author, referee, and narrator of an adventure.
The GM must learn the rules system for the game, be familiar with the fictional
or historical setting for the adventure, and then create settings, villains,
clues, artifacts, and circumstances that will test the PCs skills.

Once the players have created characters, and the GM has created an
adventure, the game begins. The GM describes the places the PCs travel
and takes on the role of any non player characters (NPCs) they meet. The
players announce what their characters do and say; if necessary, the game
rules are consulted to determine if a character's attempt to do something
-- hitting a target, piloting a starfighter, sneaking up on a guard, dickering
with a merchant -- succeeds.

Unlucky or poorly played characters might be injured or die or lose
their fortunes. Successful characters may defeat the bad guy, find the
magic artifact that will save their village, or gain a title or promotion.
In an ongoing campaign (a series of adventures that eventually resemble
a series of connected novels), characters can become stronger and wiser
and more skilled.

About GURPS

GURPS stands for Generic Universal Role Playing System. That just
about says it all: The GURPS rules lets you create and run adventures in
any fictional or historical setting, from the dawn of humanity to the far
future.

You can start playing GURPS for free! GURPS Lite is a compact version
of the rules in a downloadable document you can print up at home. All you
need to play is some paper, pencils, and ordinary dice. Click here to learn more about Gurps Lite.

If you like what you see, you can buy the complete GURPS Basic Set,
3rd Edition. It provides more rules, more advantages and disadvantages
and skills for your characters, rules on magic and psionic powers, and
a lot more.

Steve Jackson Games also publishes dozens of supplements and worldbooks
for GURPS. To learn more, click here.

GURPS Uplift, 2nd Edition is a GURPS worldbook. It presents
the worlds, beings, and institutions of the Uplift universe along with
rules for . New skills, advantages, and disadvantages, new weapons and
technology,

To get the most out of GURPS Uplift, you'll need the GURPS
Basic Set, 3rd Edition and the GURPS Compendium I.
We also recommend having GURPS Space, 3rd Edition.

As a gift for Contacting Aliens readers, we've included an introductory
adventure designed to introduce you to the possibilities of roleplaying
in the Uplift universe.

All you'll need is the GURPS Light rules, some dice, and a few friends.

If you intend to be the game master, in charge of presenting the adventure
to a group of players role-playing Terragens Agents, click here to jump
to the adventure. If you're a player, please don't ruin the surprise by
looking!